


Veritas

by gayble



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter RPF
Genre: Embarrassment, Flashbacks, Gen, Gryffindor, M/M, Past Character Death, Potions, Truth Serum, Veritaserum
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 02:29:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13848180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayble/pseuds/gayble
Summary: Snape wants to test his freshly boiled Veritaserum to his most hatred student, Harry Potter. However, as Harry answers the first few questions in utter embarrassment - which to Snape, was what he was looking for, quickly changes as Harry reluctantly reveals his secret on the night he saw Cedric die.A funny and horrific story that sends readers to flashbacks on the time they've read Harry Potter itself.





	Veritas

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my third and first Harry Potter story that I have ever written. I am quite sorry if it appears to be ruthless at the end. Nevertheless, with a good amount of kudos and comments; seeing if readers want more than a one-shot-story, I will continue making a second chapter.

 

The day Friday at Hogwarts is known to be spent by laughing with friends, relaxing by the lake; knowing that there were two more days to cram their assignments and lessons.

However, before the fifth year Gryffindor students can earn their relaxation day by the lake, they first have to endure – Harry, specifically, a double period Potion class taught no other than Professor Snape, Harry’s least favorite teacher.

 Before Harry can even stomach his lunch and prepare for his most dreadful class, Colin Creevey, a fourth year student, approached Harry with familiar excitement from talking to him.

 

“Harry! Harry!”

 

“ _Er_ \- Hello Colin” Harry said dully.

 

“Harry! I saw your game last Saturday!” said Colin excitedly, “Tremendous catch, by the way! That taught the Slyhterin beaters not to mess with Harry Potter!”

 

“Thanks – _er_ \- Collin”

 

Harry caught Ron’s smear face as if he was trying hard not to laugh from how unnecessary loud Collin’s voice was becoming.

 

“By the way, Harry,” said Colin, switching his tone from tumultuously excitement to inauspiciously scared, “Professor Snape wants to see you ten minutes before his class starts.”

 

A chill went down into Harry’s stomach. _Snape wants to meet his least favourite student before class starts? This cannot be good._ But before Harry could recoil himself from his imagination of what Snape wanted, Ron’s voice brought him back to earth.

 

“ _Snape?_ What does he want _Harry_ for?” Ron inquired.

 

 “Dunno. Says he wanted Harry’s help on some potion. He looked unusually happy, though. See you Harry!”

 

After seeing Collin leave to sit from the other end of the Gryffindor table, Harry send an incredulous look to Ron.

 

“Maybe he wants to poison you by using his freshly brewed potion.” Suggested Ron.

 

“Or maybe….” Harry thought pensively, “He has found out about the DungBombs we place in his office last week!”

 

“Or maybe he found out about us stealing ingredients for that PolyJuice Potion we made three years ago!”

 

“Or maybe,” butt-ined a sarcastic Hermione Granger while dropping her recent book used for Arithmancy, “Snape just wants Harry to remake his poorly-done potion from yesterday!”

 

“Please, that git wouldn’t give Harry a chance to improve his grades even if his life depended on it. He has sights to poisoning Harry, I knew he was evil.”

 

“Dumbledore trusts Snape. Don’t you think Dumbledore would know if Snape’s got it in for Harry?”

 

“Dumbledore is too trusty” Replied a savage Ron. “He would think that the reason why Snape hates Harry is cause of his father. Not because he’s a Death Eater in disguise.”

 

“Ron, Snape can’t – “

 

But as the debate slowly progressed to whether Snape was going to kill Harry or not, Harry decided it was for his best to start having his lunch. After all, he would be needing his strength if Snape ever _did_ wish to poison him.

 

At ten to one, Harry got up from his now comfy seat and decided it was for the best if he would face Snape confidently.

 

“We’ll see you in ten minutes, Harry.” assured Hermione.

“Scream if you need help.” said Ron, who was now getting disdainful faces from Hermione.

 

 

As he plummeted down towards the dungeons, his mind went blank. Due to Ron’s colorful imagination, he was scared to think of what Snape wanted. It took about three minutes to reach Snape’s classroom and when he finally arrived at the bleak and stoned setting, he realized there was no one here.

 

Harry then went to Snape’s office; a conjoining room from the classroom connected by a chamber like door.

 

“You wanted to see me, Sir?” Harry asked, putting his rare innocent face on.

 

“Does it ever occur to you, Potter, to have the decency of time?” asked a rhetoric Snape.

 

Harry bit a sarcastic remark that would surely get him into more trouble than he is right now.

 

Harry saw Snape pull out his wand to magically summon out one the chairs from the classroom. Then, with a wave of his hand, gestured Harry to sit down. Harry however, didn’t like to sit with the oblivion air.

 

“Why am I here?” Harry asked while looking behind Snape’s back. He was hiding what seems to be a boiled cauldron of silver and white. _Was Snape really going to poison me?_ Thought Harry.

 

“Haven’t they taught you simple instructions during your first year, Potter. When a teacher orders a student around, the student unquestionably follows.” Snape added, “Not for precious Harry Potter, though. Rules are beneath him just so he can catch more attention”

 

Harry silently yet frustratingly sat down. He wasn’t going to give Snape a chance to take points from the Gryffindor house – not as soon as Harry had given them a good amount of points from his last Quidditch match.”

 

“Now,” said Snape with his malevolent black eyes that glinted in the fluorescent lights matching with his greasy hair. “It has come to my attention that Fifth year students are taught the bare minimum requirements for their O.W.L.S. Which is why, as Dumbledore suggested, I am here to train these pathetic students to make lessons more …... unpredictable.”

 

Harry noticed Snape’s evil smirk that he sometimes sees minutes before giving Harry detention.

 

“Do you know what this is, Potter?” Snape gestured towards the steaming cauldron of white.

 

“No, sir”

 

“This, Potter, is Veritaserum. Do you know what it does?”

 

“ _Er –_ I forgot, Sir.”

 

“Extraordinary forgetful you are, Potter.” Said Snape expectantly, “This serum forces the drinker to tell the truth.”

 

“What am I here for?” Asked Harry now getting scared as Snape conjured a flask and filled it with the liquid from the cauldron.

  

“You, Potter, is simply here to be my test subject.” There was an unmistakable grin on Snape’s face now. Harry wished he could punch the slimly git and remove the grin facing him.

“You can’t do that!” Harry said now furiously standing up abruptly from his chair, “Dumbledore will find out. He’ll expe – “

 

“Dumbledore authorized the Veritaserum, Potter.” Snape said as a matter-of-factly, then grabbed Harry’s shoulder to forcefully push him back to his seat, leaned in close enough – nose barely inches apart, and said, “The headmaster asked me to pick any fifth year student at random, who knew it would be famous Harry Potter.” Then, to Harry’s utter disgust, Snape grabbed Harry’s right side of his face and said, “Drink it, Potter. All.”

 

Harry knew this was all bias. Snape didn’t chose him by random. He chose Harry because He was the one who let Sirius Black free; he was the son of Snape’s dead archenemy. There is no way Harry will let this ugly git force him to drink Veritaserum – even if he was potently structuring Harry’s face to drink the flask. Harry held his breath.

 

“Stubborn you are, Potter. Just like your father.” 

 

Snape pinched hard on Harry’s nose so that he won’t be able to breathe. Harry could feel his vision over his glasses getting blurry. He needed to breathe but Snape couldn’t win.

 

No matter how much Harry tried to keep his breath, human instincts defined and overruled him. He gave out an enormous gasp for air but instead of receiving air in return, he received fresh minty liquid.

 

Snape smirked as he thought of possibilities to ask Harry – starting from all his rule breaking activities enough to send him a lifetime of detentions.

 

“What the – ?” was merely all Harry could muster as his visions got blurrier than ever, making him feel like his glasses were useless. His mind felt like it was running in a drunk and slow state; feeling as though his mouth ran faster than his thoughts, and finally, his body feeling as if he just swallowed a toothpaste milkshake.

 

“I take it you are now experiencing the after effects of Veritaserum.” Snape said nonchalantly. As though he didn’t just forcefully shove a drink onto a student.

 

It was exactly one o’clock in the afternoon. Harry could meekly hear thousands and thousands of footsteps entering the classroom – or was his ears reverberating echoes of student? He heard his name once or twice; or thousands of times – but he didn’t care. He needed to leave Snape’s dungeon before he starts asking questions. He will do this as soon as he stops seeing multiple visions and as soon as his body will act according to his mind.

 

“Let’s test the effects, shall we?” Snape’s voice brought Harry’s mind back to reality. He noticed Snape’s strong fingers dragging him to what seemed to be a chair in the front middle of the whole class. Worried Gryffindors and excited Slytherins were watching him drool from the side of his mouth.

 

“SILENCE!” Snape shouted to get rid of the uproar of confusions coming from Gryffindors and the excitements coming from the Slytherins. Malfoy, however, looked as though Christmas came early.

 

“What I have here today is a treat for you all,” lectured Snape. “Potter here is in a state of Veritaserum – also known as The Truth Serum. The effects are similar to drinking what you can call muggle alcohol, as it allows the subject to be in a relax and easy trance.”

 

“What have you done with him!” Ron shouted furiously

 

“Ten points from Gryffindor for not paying attention from what I have just stated!” glared Snape sarcastically. “Now, as I was saying, Veritaserum is known for its usage on criminal trials, and can only make the subject sweat and delirious if they’ve got something to hide. Just look at Potter.”

 

It was true. Despite Ron’s shouts to bring him back to reality, Harry was in a very much delirious state. It was like the after effects of drinking 30 butterbeers and having 4 shots of tranquillisers from Madam Pomfrey all in one sitting.

 

“Now, in order to verify the effectiveness of the serum on the subject, the usual task is to ask quick questions that you already know. Example:” With an excited glare, Snape asked Harry, “Potter, what is your full name?”

 

Harry, once again bringing brought back to reality from lucid thoughts, hurriedly answered, “Harry James Potter”

 

Snape however, tried to hide his cringe upon hearing Harry’s middle name.

 

“So, Harry _James_ Potter…. How old are you?”

 

“I Just turned 15!” smiled an excited Harry

 

Malfoy, sitting front row from the class, sniggered at the drunk image of Harry.

 

“Now, after assuring that the serum has complete and total control of the subject, the validity of the serum is tested on what the asker and subject might know the answers too and what the subject is most reluctant to reveal.”

 

“Example,” Snape sarcastically smiled at Harry – which surprisingly, Harry smiled back to. “Potter, who stole potion ingredients during your second year to brew…. a PolyJuice Potion?”

 

Harry’s smile was no longer seen. Instead, he kept his mouth and eyes shut, biting his tongue for the words he was about to say would definitely get him, Ron, and Hermione – _especially_ Hermione in trouble.

 

“Ah. As you can see, Potter’s fighting off the serum. This, however, will remain fruitless as the longer the secret’s being kept, the harder it hurts.”

 

Harry could hear Hermione calling his name. It was the tone filled with worrisome; not for herself for getting in trouble, but for him being in pain. Harry thought with all his might, trying to circumvent the serum, _maybe if I could unequivocally tell Snape what happened_

“Ron distracted you with fireworks during the class. I was near your office at that time.” Harry let out a breath that filed with red liquid coming from his mouth - _Blood_

 

Snape let out a victorious smile as if he’d been waiting for Harry to confess the statement for ages.

 

“Last question before we get to the real stuff, Potter.”

 

For once, Snape’s class was filled with determined silence. Usually, people were afraid to talk due to the Professor’s intimidating front, but with an interesting lesson, everyone’s silent questions began to ask: _What could be the last question?_

“Tell me, Potter… Amongst all Hogwarts students, who do you secretly have a crush one?” grinned Snape.

 

Harry closed his mouth shut again. He cannot, under any circumstances give out Cho’s name because it involves Cedric Diggory’s death.

 

“Yes?” Snape asked impatiently yet enjoying Harry’s painful struggles.

 

“A Ravenclaw student” Answered Harry hoping against hope that Snape won’t see how he has wormed away from his answer.

 

But of course Snape did. He saw Harry’s struggles and wild embarrassment for his admittance. He wanted more.

 

“Care to be more specific, Potter?”

 

“She has long black shiny hai –“

 

“THE NAME, POTTER!” shouted Snape.

 

All the Slytherins and half of the Gryffindors were howling at Harry’s vague secret admirer.

Ron and Hermione, however, were shouting at Snape.

 

“Can’t you see it’s hurting him!”

“You can’t – “

 

“SILENCE! Potter, give me the name”

 

“Cho Chang! It’s Cho Chang, alright!” said Harry closing his eyes and leaning against his chair; feeling miserable and embarrassed as ever.

 

The class, however, laughed like never before. Snape this time didn’t silence them.

 

“Blimey, Harry!” Cried out Neville

 

“Was that why he didn’t help poor Cedric?” said a distant voice

 

“He didn’t die because I was reluctant to help him,” replied a surprised Harry. “He died because we both were helpless and I was bounded by Voldemort that night.”

 

The mood of the class switched from enthusiastic to solemn in a snap.

 

“Potter! What are you talking about?” Then, realizing that was a question, Snape desperately tried to dismiss the class.

 

Before everyone could leave, Harry replied, “Voldemort didn’t kill him, it was Peter Pettigrew. I just didn’t think anyone would believe me if I explained that a supposedly dead figure tried killing Cedric. I tried helping but I was under both the Imperious and the Cruciatus curse. And for some time now –“

 

“ENOUGH” bellowed Snape. “One more word I hear from you Potter and you will be sent to detention for the rest of your Hogwarts life.”

 

The class was truly a rare sight. Some Slyhterins – including Malfoy, were hiding their sorry faces and guilt by bowing their heads down the stone pavements. As if the stones were far more interesting than Snape threatening Harry to detention. Meanwhile, some Gryffindors were either glaring at Snape for what he had forcefully brought upon himself and felt sorry for Harry.

 

Hermione and Ron had boiling hot tears dropping from their eyes

 

“Oh, Harry!” Cried Hermione as she, followed by Ron, went up to the class.

 

“Get. Out.”

Snape, although being in his bewildered state, ordered everyone to abruptly leave. Including the trio, Ron, Harry, and Hermione

As the trio ascended towards the stairs, Hermione asked if Harry was okay.

 

“No. No, I’m not okay.” Said Harry with the mixture of being angry, honest, and surprised that he still has the serum on him. “No one was suppose to hear that, not even from a serum.”

 

“That bloody stupid old git – “ Ron complained with a series of foul languages and insults, “Just wait till I _really_ poison him and kill him! To bloody hell with this guy, anyway – Why didn’t you tell us? Harry – “

 

“Because it was too painful, Now my secret’s out.” Harry muttered. “And get the bloody antidote from Snape, will you?”

 

But before Ron and Hermione could muster any questions they have to Harry, Harry stormed off to his dormitory and, skipping dinner and went to an early sleep.


End file.
